The present invention relates to wind instruments which are played by an individual blowing into the same, and to a method of making such instruments. The present invention relates in particular to brass and woodwind instruments and a method of making such instruments.
Brass and woodwind instruments are historically quite old, even the modern versions of such instruments dating from the 1800's. It has long been recognized, however, that a "perfect" scale cannot be played on a brass or woodwind instrument. By failing to play a perfect scale, it is meant that while certain notes within a given octave played on a woodwind or brass instrument can be played on key, other notes in the same octave will play slightly sharp or flat.
The reason why a perfect scale cannot be played on such instruments can be illustrated with respect to a trumpet or a cornet. Trumpets and cornets typically have three valves which when activated singly or in combination change the effective length of the sound path in the instrument. The sound path length as well as the shape of the bore of the trumpet, trumpets typically having a cylindrical bore, affect the note that can be produced by the trumpet. The length of the sound path and the conical bore determine where the nodes and antinodes of the standing waves produced by the individual's embouchure will occur in the instrument. In the three-valve instrument such as a trumpet, the first valve is ideally designed to add two semitones and the second valve adds one semitone. The third valve is ideally designed to add three semitones; however, the third valve is typically played in combination with either of valves 1 or 2 or both. Each valve, in short, adds at least one semitone by valving the standing wave through an additional length of tubing on the instrument.
The problem with the three-valve instrument is that the three different lengths of tubes through which the valves direct the standing wave cannot be combined so as to produce a perfect sound path length for each of the thirteen notes in an octave. For instance, it is necessary in producing some notes that valves 2 and 3 be depressed simultaneously. In some brass instruments, depressing valves 2 and 3 simultaneously will produce a note which is sharp because the sound path is too short. However, if the sound path added by valve 2 were lengthened, the notes produced by activating valve 2 would be flat. Lengthening the sound path added by valve 3 would similarly affect the notes produced by valve 3 being played in combination with valve 1. In short, prior art trumpets and cornet are a product of compromise, some notes play sharp, others flat.
It is well known that the same problem is present in woodwind instruments. In a saxophone, for instance, the positioning of octave holes is a result of a compromise between which notes will play sharp and which notes will play flat.